Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

BOA Response to 'Shortage of Doctors for London 2012'

Statement from the BOA in response to news that there will be a possible shortage of specialist doctors available at London 2012

Members of the British Osteopathic Association (BOA) have worked alongside sporting events organisers, clubs, sports centres and supported individual sports men and women for decades. Most recently one of their members was the official Osteopath for the England football team for the World Cup, and many Osteopaths are considered ‘sports specialists’ due to previous training and experience within the sporting world.

Nigel Graham, President of the BOA, comments: “We are increasingly finding that more and more osteopaths are working with sports people to help them overcome their injuries and have found that the best results occur when the acute injury is treated quickly and appropriately.

“We believe that one of the solutions to deal with the expected shortage of specialist Doctors is to create multidisciplined teams that include Doctors, Physiotherapists, Osteopaths and other therapists to ensure that each sports person receives the best treatment for their injury.

“To achieve this we need to work towards everybody understanding the part each discipline has to play in the recovery of each sports person to bring about quick and affective results.”

There are currently 3,500 osteopaths in the UK.

For Further info, contact:

Nigel Graham
British Osteopathic Association
Tel: 01582 488 455
E-mail: nigelgraham@osteopathy.org

Background:

‘Leading physicians have warned that there are insufficient numbers of sports doctors on the Specialist Register to support the 2012 Olympics, and called on Primary Care Trusts to create more posts for practitioners of Sport and Exercise Medicine both to meet the level of demand created by the Games and to help combat obesity, and help improve the health of the Nation. Royal College of Physicians Monday 11th September